Match me - accounting/finance major [TX resident, 3.77UW, top 3% rank, low income]

Chance Me / Match Me!
, ,
1

Demographics

  • US domestic : US citizen
  • State/Location of residency: Texas
  • Type of high school : Public Title 1 High School
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): Female/Asian/Vietnamese
  • Other special factors: First Gen

Intended Major(s): Accounting/Finance (Want to be a CPA/Financial Advisor)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.77/4.0 (estimate)
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 5.1/6.0
  • College GPA (dual credit): 3.95/4.0
  • Class Rank: 19 out of 746
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1170 (Want to do SAT Optional)

Coursework
(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))

Human Geography AP 2
World History AP 3
SPCH 1311
PHED 1164
EDUC 1300
ARTS 1304
GOVT 2306
BIOL 1406
HIST 1301
ENGL 1301
BIOL 1407
BCIS 1305
PSYC 2301
HIST 1302
ENGL 1302
ECON 2302
BUSI 2301
ENGL 2323
ENGL 2322
ECON 2301
GOVT 2305

Spanish 2
MATH 1314: College Algebra (All A’s except this class B+)

Awards
Best Interact Junior Award
Business Professional of America Ambassador Torch Award (Advanced to Nationals for this)
Business Professional of America State Advancer: Team Mangement and Payroll Accounting
DECA State Advancer: Project Mangement: Career Development
Acre Homes Scholarship (They gave me a T.V)

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
Business Professional of America President (2023-2024) and Community Outreach (2022-2023), Over 30+ hours volunteering with the club
DECA VP of Career Development (2023-2024)
Interact Secretary (2022-2023), Over 80+ hours volunteering with the club
Global Business Pathway (Program to help students get an associates degree through a community college)
Volunteered at the School’s food bank for a year
GenesysWorks Summer Training
Insperity Paid Internship for the school year
TRIO Member
National Honors Society

Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
Business/Global Business Teacher LOR: Strong
Internship Coordinator LOR: Strong
DCUSH Teacher

Cost Constraints / Budget
(High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.)
Need financial aid
Family income ~48K (family of 4)

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)

  • Safety (certain admission and affordability): University of Houston (+Downtown)

How good is the financial aid from these schools?
I am applying to many TX schools, such as Texas A&M, UT Austin, Sam Houston State University, University of St. Thomas University, University of Houston, and Houston Christian University.

I am just looking for any universities that have a good finance school (with an accelerated degree program) and good financial aid. I prefer to stay in Texas, but with enough financial aid I will consider. I will graduate high school with associate of art in business. I also applied to some big schools since I have fee waivers anyways.

Massive Reach: Upenn, Claremont McKenna (ED), and Columbia (I understand the chances of not getting in. My hopes are not high! Just wanted to state my other applications out of state. Nothing is submitted.)

Thank you for your help!

Also, should I retake the SATs? Would it help me?

2

If you want to go into accounting, I personally would not ED to a small liberal arts college. Maybe Claremont McKenna has a robust accounting internship pipeline, but that’s generally not the case at smaller schools. Claremont McKenna doesn’t even have a specific Accounting/Accountancy major.

Maybe I am wring, but I think Rice University would be a better use of an ED if you want to go into accounting. Even there, you would just be getting a general Business degree.

Your large Texas public universities are all great bets for accounting. The large accounting firms will all recruit there and make it easier to network and apply for internships. Affordability will be the biggest challenge.

Two of the schools whose students have the highest CPA exam pass rate (from 2020, I think) are Texas schools:

  1. University of Texas at Austin —89.5% pass rate
  2. Brigham Young University —89.4% pass rate
  3. Wake Forest University —88.8% pass rate
  4. Boston College —88.3% pass rate
  5. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor —88.2% pass rate
  6. University of Florida — 86.4% pass rate
  7. University of Virginia — 84.8% pass rate
  8. Texas A&M University — 82.9% pass rate
  9. University of Wisconsin-Madison — 82.9% pass rate

Have you looked at your list to see which schools have the most accounting courses? It might be worth checking the CPA exam pass rate, too: https://www.efficientlearning.com/cpa/resources/cpa-exam-pass-rates/

Finally, to get a sense of cost, you should do the Net Price Calculator (NPC) on the website at each school to see which is most affordable.

Sometimes private schools are the most generous with aid, but the least likely to have a strong accounting program. I know Gonzaga University in Washington is strong in accounting. You might check to see what the NPC shows there.

1 Like
3

Have you taken Spanish 3? Claremont McKenna requires 3 years of high school foreign language.

1 Like
4

Thank you for your input! I appreciate it. I wanted to get more opinions on my college choices, I was not sure about Claremont either but my friend/college mentor? suggested it.

5

It would probably also be a good idea to limit your list to schools that are AACSB accredited. You can see the full list here:

https://www.mba.today/guide/aacsb-accredited-business-schools

2 Likes
6

Claremont McKenna is a great school, but not necessarily for your career goals.

2 Likes
7

No, but I do not think I will be doing ED (or applying to Claremont).

2 Likes
8

A match/low-reach school in Texas that might offer you more aid, is AACSB accredited, and offers an accounting program is Trinity University. The Niche profile for Trinity suggests a higher amount of aid for household incomes below $40,000 than some of the other schools on your list.

Another lower-cost option that would also be an admission safety is University of Texas Dallas.

2 Likes
9

One more comment — my D22 was admitted to a school that offered a 3+1 program that would enable her to get a Masters in Accounting and qualify for the CPA exam in 4 years. I am assuming that is what you mean when you say you want an accelerated program.

My D22 ended up going to a different school without that program, but a school that was generous in giving her credit for her AP classes. That way she will get enough credits to qualify for the CPA exam in 4 years. She won’t get a Masters, but that isn’t necessary, and she is getting a second BS degree with those credits.

Similarly, you want a school that will be generous in giving you credit for your AA degree courses. Public universities in Texas are likely to be the most generous in recognizing credits from a Texas community college. So in that way, your credits will accelerate you even if you are not in a designated accelerated program. Once you have your acceptances, you should contact an advisor at each of your finalist schools to get confirmation of how many of your credits will transfer.

As a general rule, private colleges tend to be more restrictive about giving credit for community college/dual enrollment and AP credits.

1 Like
10

The good news is you are auto admit for UT but need to go TO. May not get into accounting. There are lots of good Tx publics.

My worry is will you hs e the rigor to handle a top program - just going by the score.

I would not bother with the massive reach.

Good luck.

1 Like
11

Most TX public colleges offer free tuition to admitted TX residents from very low income families, though the income standard varies somewhat. For example, check out Texas Tech’s Red Raider Guarantee, which I think you would qualify for (under $65k family income). Fine accounting program there - I have a good friend who received a Bachelor’s in accounting from Tech and has enjoyed a very successful and lucrative career at a major international accounting firm. I agree with others that UT and A&M might not be the best choices here, since admission to the business schools is not guaranteed. Better to choose another public school where you can definitely study in your preferred field and still have strong career options.

4 Likes
12

@CMA22 UtAustin and A&M are tops in the state, as far as Accounting. You are guaranteed auto admit into both schools, but unlikely to get admitted to either business school.

I’d look at Tech and UHouston. Both have strong business schools, Big12 Athletics.

It is really late to just now apply. I’m stressed out for you…get those applications submitted asap!
And I’d definitely go test optimal. Retaking might help, for scholarships, but it’s too late to study & retake at this point, for applications.

2 Likes
13

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. If you’d like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.